You Found Me
by thementalist2
Summary: AU. Nick is a part-time OR surgeon working at Desert Palms Hospital, while still being a CSI. One day, Nick recognizes a red-haired surgeon, who is Sharon Harris. But Sharon looks so much like Catherine, who disappeared from a crime scene four years ago. Nick soon learns Sharon's secret-and the truth as to what happened to Catherine. Title is from BlasterJaxx's "You Found Me." C/N.
1. Chapter 1

He jumped out of the ambulance, his hand on the gurney, guiding the patient into the ER. The patient was bleeding from a bullet hole in her chest. Her brown hair was soaked with sweat, and the man with black hair was shouting for a nurse.

"GSW to the chest, female, mid-40s, her name is Sara!" the man shouted.

A woman with red hair dropped her clipboard down on the desk and called for several other nurses to join her. But the black-haired man noticed something about the red-haired woman. She looked so familiar. But where had he seen her before? Was she a co-worker or was she just somebody that he used to know?

"Nick," a voice called. He turned around and saw Grissom running towards him. "Did she make it to the OR yet?"

"No," Nick replied. "I'm going in to help her. But, there's a nurse with red hair that looks a lot like Catherine."

Grissom felt the world collapse on top of him. No one at the Crime Lab had seen Catherine Willows in four years. She had gone out to a crime scene alone, with the police around the corner, and never came back.

_Catherine had been taking pictures of the body, and had found the murder weapon in the victim's hand. She had been about to bag the evidence when she was snatched from behind and a cloth was clamped over her mouth. She had reacted quickly, trying to pry her attacker's hands away from her. But she succumbed to the chloroform and fell unconscious. An officer had heard her shoes being dragged across the cement, and when he arrived on scene, he saw a car speeding away. He knew the color was navy blue, but he couldn't catch the license plate. That was the last time Catherine was ever seen, and no calls from the kidnapper had come in. The minutes turned into hours, which turned into days. After two weeks, the Lab received a picture from the abductor, taunting them that they were never going to find her. The news hit Nick the hardest. He had been in love with her for a long time, but he still hadn't asked her out. The weeks began turning into months. Leads began drying up. After a year, Nick asked to take a leave of absence. He began going to medical school and learning how to become an OR surgeon. No news about Catherine came in._

As he headed up to the OR, he couldn't stop thinking about the red-haired woman. He needed to talk to her. He looked at her, and she noticed his stare. She wasn't smiling, and she looked like she had gone through something terrible.

She and the other surgeons rushed Sara into the OR, and prepared to take the bullet out of her chest. The redhead pulled on her mask and scrubs, and made sure the surgical tools were on a tray, ready to be used.

*****Two hours later*****

The woman had performed another successful surgery. The bullet was taken out and Sara was moved into Recovery One, where Grissom was spending most of his time.

The woman took off her gloves and scrubs and headed into the locker room. Nick watched her leave, then followed her to the room, where he found his locker. He noticed that her movements were quick, and her breathing was quick.

"Hey," Nick said. "Are you ok?"

The woman looked up, starting to panic. "I'm fine; I just need to check on the other patients."

"Are you sure you're ok? You seem really distracted."

"Yeah, I'm just fine. Had a long day, that's all."

"You look exactly like someone I used to know," he replied. "But she disappeared and was never found."

"Really? That's terrible, what was her name?"

"Catherine."

"I'm sorry for your loss. I hope you find her."

"Thanks. What was your name?"  
>"Dr. Harris. But my name is Sharon."<p>

"Nice to meet you; want to grab a beer after shift?"

"I would love to, but I have to get home. Family things."

"Ok. Maybe tomorrow?"

"Yea, I think that would be ok."

After grabbing her things, she looked at her watch and realized that she needed to get home. She knew that he would be angry. Extremely upset. He expected her to be home on time, or there would be consequences.

*****At her 'house,' aka The Unknown*****

Sharon looked at the clock and realized that her 'boyfriend' was going to be angry. She was ten minutes late. Hoping to make up an excuse, she locked her car and hurried into the house. She saw that he was sitting on the couch, looking at her with anger.

"Where were you?" he thundered.

"I got stuck in traffic," she said.

"GET MY WATER."

Sharon didn't waste a second in running into the kitchen and grabbing a glass. Filling it with water, she brought the glass out to him. But, his anger didn't go away. Instead, he lept off the couch, surprising her, and snatched the glass out of her hand. The glass shattered to the floor, water spilling everywhere and shards of glass scratching the hardwood floors. He slapped her in the face, knocking her off balance. She fell to the floor, cutting her hand in the process.

"I expect you to be home on time tomorrow!" he threatened. "No more excuses!"

"I hate you!" she snapped.

He punched her in the face, and shoved her back to the ground as she tried to stand up.

"Don't you ever talk to me that way again, CATHERINE," he snarled. "You're mine, and always will be. You will never escape."

Catherine had been held hostage in this prison for four years. He had traumatized her from day one. Changing her name, forbidding her to speak it, and changing her records. Catherine Willows did not exist anymore. Instead, Sharon Harris took her place. The imprisoned CSI-turned ER/OR surgeon tried to say her own name, but he hurt her emotionally. He had told her, "You are banned from saying your own name anymore. You will be known as Sharon. Catherine no longer exists."

She was able to stand up, but not before he roughly grabbed her wrist and shoved her against the coffee table.

"Clean up the glass. I expect you to be better tomorrow."

*****The next day, Desert Palms Hospital ER*****

Nick arrived at the hospital for his two-hour shift before work. He worked from 4 in the afternoon until 7 in the morning at both the hospital and Crime Lab. He was on his way to the break room to grab a cup of coffee when he noticed the red-haired woman enter the ER. He could tell that she had been through a rough situation. She looked paler than yesterday, and was wearing long sleeves instead of short sleeves. And she was wearing more makeup.

"Sharon," he called. She jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Hi," she said. "What's your name? I don't think I caught it yesterday."

"It's Nick."

"Nick, it's nice to see you again. Can I help you with something?"

"I'm really worried about you, Sharon. You don't look that great. Are you feeling alright?"

"Yea, I just didn't get enough sleep last night. I'm on my way to check on Sara."

"That's ok, let me check on her. You can have my coffee."

"Really? Thank you."

"No problem."

Nick left the room and found Sara, wide awake, with Grissom by her side.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Nick asked.

"The morphine's making me feel better, but I'm still in a lot of pain. I want to get out into the field and take down the man who shot me," she replied.

"Well, you're going to be resting for a while. The bullet was very close to your heart; I'm surprised that it didn't hit the aorta."

"It was that close?"

"Yes. But we got it out. You are expected to make a full recovery."

"Nick, do you recognize anything about Dr. Harris?" she asked.

"She looks exactly like Catherine. But I don't know if it's her. We could do a DNA test, but we'd have to bring her down to the Lab. She's been acting very weird. She jumped when I called her."

"Do you think she's been traumatized?"

"I think so; she seems like she's being abused."

"Physically or emotionally?"  
>"It might be both. I'll see if I can get her to come down."<p>

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Nick headed back to the break room to find Sharon still drinking the coffee.

"Sara is doing fine," he said. "Also, she seems to recognize you too. I was wondering if you would want to come down to the Crime Lab and give a DNA sample?"

"No," she said. "I can't."

"Why not? Please, Sharon, tell me why."

Sharon began to panic. "Please don't ever ask me that question again. I have to go check on my other patients."

"Sharon…" he began, but she had already left the room.

_**You found me standing alone_

_You lift me high off the ground_

_I feel love, I feel love_

_In your eyes, I am free**_

***A/N: Anything w/two asterisks and is in italics is from the song that inspired this story.***


	2. Chapter 2

Nick immediately ran off to Sara's room.

"Sharon freaked out about the DNA sample," he said to his co-worker. "She's been severely traumatized. She told me to never ask her about the DNA sample again."

"We need to know if that woman is Catherine or not," Nick said. "She left her coffee cup in the break room. That should be enough to get an accurate DNA sample."

The CSI headed back to the break room and found Sharon's coffee cup still lying on the table. Putting it into a bag, he walked back to Sara's room and gave Grissom the bag. The Supervisor headed out to his car and drove back to the Lab.

*****LVCL, 15 minutes later*****

Grissom ran into Henry's lab, who had been covering for the day-shift tech.

"Henry! I need you to trace the DNA on this coffee cup!" the Supervisor said.

"Sure, boss. What's the issue?"

"Nick thinks he may have found Catherine."

Henry almost fainted. She had been like a mother to him, and when she disappeared, he was torn.

"What? Where?"

"The woman's name is Sharon Harris. Everything about her says that she's Catherine. She's got red hair and her voice sounds exactly the same."

Henry did not want to waste another second if a friend of his was out in the world, hurting and suffering. He immediately gathered the DNA off the rim of the coffee cup and plugged the findings into the system.

Within three minutes, a positive match was identified...but the DNA came back to Sharon Harris.

Henry called Grissom into the Lab.

"Boss, the DNA results came back, but they match Sharon Harris. Not Catherine," the Tech said with a trace of sadness. "I don't think she's ever going to come back. I'm sorry I even said that, but she's been gone for four years. There's been nothing."

"Catherine is not dead. Until a body is found, I refuse to think that she's dead. She's strong and a fighter. I want you to keep looking. Find me anything about her. We need to talk to Sharon and see if she knows anything about Catherine."

"Right away, boss," Henry replied, pulling up his Internet browser.

*****Desert Palms ER*****

Catherine was sweating and nervous. The Crime Lab was beginning to figure out who she really was. Her identity was beginning to be exposed.

She knew that Nick was trying to rescue her. But being traumatized in the early days of her kidnapping prevented her from saying who she really was. She couldn't speak her own name even if she wanted to. The years of abuse had shut her down. She was like a computer that had died, and even if you charged it up, it could never be turned on again.

She needed to get out of Vegas. No one could ever know her hidden secret. _He_ would find her. And she would never get to work at Desert Palms again.

She couldn't stop thinking about Nick. She was in love with him, not knowing that he felt the same way about her. She wanted to say her real name, but memories of him torturing her with a Taser shut her down.

_I have to fight this,_ she thought. _I have to forget about him. Nick is my main focus. I must let him know._

She found herself running into the break room and almost saying his name, but her lips were unable to say her name.

"Sharon, are you sure you're ok? You're looking really pale," Nick said.

"Yea, I just didn't get enough sleep last night," Sharon replied quickly. She was beginning to sweat and her heart rate shot up. Her temperature began climbing, and it caused her eyes to close. Nick could see that she was going to fall onto the floor. He caught her before her head hit the floor and called her name. A nurse entered the room and also ran over to Sharon.

"What happened?" the nurse asked.

"I don't know; I was just talking to her and she fainted."

The nurse ran out of the room and shouted for a couple of her co-workers to help Sharon be taken to a room.

Within a minute, Sharon was wide awake and confused. Nick was explaining the situation to her and her good friend Dr. Nelson came in and asked her how she was feeling.

"Confused," she replied. "I don't remember what happened."

"You were talking to Nick and collapsed. He caught you before your head hit the floor. We are running a few tests to make sure nothing's wrong."

After an hour, the test results came back. Nelson had done a physical and blood test and received some shocking results.

"Sharon," Nelson said, after walking back into her room. "Your results came back. Apparently, your blood sugar is low, and that's why you collapsed. It seems as though you haven't been eating properly."

"That's not possible; I eat three meals a day," she replied.

"The tests are saying that you aren't getting enough food. Also, we did a physical exam to see if something else was causing the fainting, and we found bruises on your arms and there are several clear outlines of fingers. Sharon, is someone abusing you?"

"No," she said. "Those are from me grabbing my arm. It helps me with stress."

"Sharon, if you are having trouble with anyone, you can always talk to me or Nick."

"Thanks."

Sharon was told that she needed to go home and take the shift off. Nick volunteered that he would drive her home and come back.

"Even though I haven't known you for very long, I noticed that I'm feeling very safe whenever I'm in your sight," Sharon said once they were on their way to her house.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yea, I just feel so safe."

He soon pulled up in front of her house, and after saying a quick 'goodbye and thank you', he noticed that she was running to get into the house.

He saw that there was a tall man about 5'11.' Nick gasped in horror as the man grabbed Sharon's wrist and throw her into the house, with her falling to the floor.

He quickly drove back to the hospital, where he alerted Grissom of what was going on with Sharon.

"She's being abused?" the Supervisor asked in shock.

"Yes," Nick said.

Grissom picked up his phone and dialed the Crime Lab.

"I need a team over to 539 West Las Vegas Avenue, there is a woman being abused. Her name is Sharon Harris," he said.

"We'll be over there in no time," Brass replied.

*****The House*****

Sharon felt her 'boyfriend' hit her in the face. She collapsed onto the ground, weak from hunger.

"You got a ride home from someone!" he snarled. "You are expected to come home everyday alone!"

Sharon couldn't respond. She didn't have the strength to fight him. The abuse was finally taking a toll on her.

Before he could do anything more, Brass kicked the door down and the LVPD entered the house, pointing their guns at the abuser.

"Let her go," Brass snapped.

"Never," the abuser replied. "She's always been mine, and will never be anyone else's."

"Then you leave me no choice but to shoot you."

"Shoot me and she comes with."

But the abuser didn't realize how quick Brass was at firing off a shot. As the perpetrator prepared to hold Sharon in a headlock, Brass pulled the trigger, the bullet clipping the man's shoulder.

"Ow! You shot me, you idiot!"

"Get him out of here," Brass said, running over to Sharon, who broke down crying. "He will never hurt you again. Sharon, was it?"

"No," she said. "My name is Catherine."

Brass felt the color drain from his face. Catherine had been his best friend for years until her disappearance. He missed her terribly.

"That creep will be spending the rest of his life in a prison cell. I'll make sure he gets no chance of parole."

He carried her out to the ambulance, which took her back to work.

Nick had been looking over paperwork at the front desk when he saw the paramedics bringing Sharon in. She looked incredibly pale.

"Everyone out of the way!" a paramedic shouted. "Dr. Harris needs immediate examination!"

"No!" Nick heard her say. "I never want to be called Dr. Harris ever again."

He ran over to her. "Why not?"

"Because my name is Catherine Willows."

_**Catch me after dark_

_I am your_

_Music to my heart_

_I am the soul_

_You're the melody**_


	3. Chapter 3

Nick couldn't believe what the woman had just said out loud. The woman he loved was alive. He had been thinking that she was dead for over two years. Days of suffering and pain had finally come to an end. He had found her.

Catherine was whisked away to the nearest room to be examined because of the abuse. Nick was panicking, worried that she might die. He didn't want to lose her after those years of waiting for answers.

Dr. Nelson came out of to the ER waiting room an hour later and told Nick that she was suffering from mild malnutrition and dehydration. She was required to stay two days in the hospital. The CSI said that he would be with her as long as he was allowed to.

He saw her, IV lines in her arm, and looking like she was in pain.

"Cath…" he began, wanting to kill the piece of crap who had done this to her.

"Nick," she said. "You have no idea how long I've been wanting to see you. It's been too long."

But she was cut off from saying anything more by him kissing her. It was kind of hard to wrap her arms around his neck because of the IVs.

"I love you so much," he said. "I've been trying to tell you for a long time. But I couldn't. When you disappeared, I never thought I would be able to tell you how I felt."

"I love you too," she replied.

"Once you get out of here, you want to go out to dinner with me?"

"Nick Stokes, did you just ask me on a date?" she teased.

"I most certainly did."

"Then yes, I love to go out to dinner with you."

****ER, two days later*****

As Catherine prepared to leave her shift that evening, a man in the waiting room pulled out a gun and caused many people to panic.

"My daughter is supposed to be getting a heart, but instead they're going to give it to some older patient! She's been on the list for months, and they finally told me that she was getting one. But no!" the man screamed.

"Sir, what is your name?" Catherine asked.

"My name is Matthew and my daughter is Lisa," he replied.

"Alright, sir, bring her inside and we can talk about this."

"No! I will only bring her inside if she's getting a heart! No one leaves here until she gets one!"

"I need a heart transplant now!" Catherine shouted. "Get this girl to OR One."

"Dr. Willows, you know the protocol-" the secretary began, but the redhead just glared.

"Get me that transplant or other people are going to die."

"Alright."

The secretary dialed a number, telling them to get the next heart over to the hospital.

Within a half hour, Catherine was finally able to calm the man down when she told him that his daughter was going into surgery. The heart was in good condition and was ready to be transplanted.

But, he noticed that the older man who was getting heart instead of the girl was being wheeled away towards the OR.

The man with the gun pointed the weapon at Catherine. "He's not going to the OR! My daughter is getting that heart and that's final!"

"Sir, I can't-" she said. "It's against protocol."

"Screw protocol, that heart is going to my daughter! Get into the room now!"

Catherine signaled to the nurses to get the young girl into the OR. But the old man looked at the redhead and mouthed the words, "Let her have the heart."

Catherine turned to the man with the gun. "He decided to let your daughter get the heart instead of him. She will go into the OR right now."

"Thank you!" the man exclaimed, setting his gun down.

The LVPD entered the hospital five minutes later and arrested the man with the gun. He would only spend about a month in prison.

Catherine got news of the girl's successful surgery an hour later. The OR surgeon found Nick and told him the whole story of being held captive for four years.

He pulled his soon-to-be girlfriend into his arms and kissed her passionately.

"You found me," Catherine said, kissing him back. "You saved me."

_***My soul was waiting,_

_Time is fading_

_And I..._

_I know we'll make it,_

_Start the waking,_

_You found me***_


End file.
